From tonight squatters will finally enjoy free housing - in jail

There are times that listening to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme is bad for my blood pressure.

This morning was one such episode. In the prime interview slot at 8.10am this morning, BBC stalwart John Humphrys was tasked by his editors with interviewing a lady called Katie Kennedy.

Ms Kennedy is well spoken and educated. She works as a teacher. She is also a squatter.

End of the road: There is no lawful excuse for squatting. And those that do squat from midnight tonight face criminal prosecution...finally

She and her fellow squatters face being criminalised from midnight tonight by a change in the law that finally makes squatting a criminal offence.

Until now property owners have had to spend thousands of pounds on legal fees over many months in lawfully evicting those who had no lawful right to enter into their properties, whether they were occupied by the owners or not.

Frequently squatters leave the properties in a foul state as, without electricity or sanitation, faeces is often left by the squatters as a parting gift.

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Radio 4 evidently chose Ms Kennedy because her background story as to why she became a squatter is deeply upsetting. She fled from an abusive relationship and, so she says, local authorities have failed to find her accommodation even though she was statutorily homeless.

The sub-text was clear: how could this mean, nasty and evil Tory government want to criminalise victims of domestic violence, particularly middle class women? It was classic BBC positioning.

Victims: Squatters targeted the Hamstead home of Dr Oliver Cockerell and his wife Kaltun last year despite the fact she was heavily pregnant

Charming: Until now property owners have had to spend thousands of pounds on legal fees over many months in lawfully evicting those who had no lawful right to enter into their properties

Sadly for the editors of Today, Ms Kennedy showed herself to be deluded. She did not accept that squatting was or should be a crime. 'The real crime', she said, was the way that so many properties were left vacant by their owners.

When John Humphrys pointed out to her that she was as culpable as the thief of a motor car who had taken advantage of an owner accidentally leaving their keys in the ignition, Ms Kennedy disagreed.

Living in someone else's home for months on end, without their permission and causing them to incur irrecoverable legal cost running into thousands of pounds, was neither morally or lawfully wrong.

Taking a stand: Housing minister Grant Shapps has announced the end of squatters' rights

And this woman is allowed to teach in our schools.

Like many, I could not understand how someone on a teacher's salary could not afford to rent even a room in a property. Ms Kennedy said that she taught ad hoc and not full time. In that case she would presumably qualify for housing benefit and tax credits that would supplement her income and ensure her rent was covered in a privately rented property.

This is not the case of someone on the bread line.

I could not help but feel, as the interview concluded, that Ms Kennedy personified the selfish, 'me-centric' world that New Labour bequeathed as its legacy. Her narcissism was galling. She failed to see that what she was doing was wrong and displayed no sympathy of any kind for those whose lives she and her friends were blighting.

The fact that she is allowed to teach should appall every right thinking person. Do the headteachers of the schools where she works, on and off, know that she is a squatter? Does her trade union? Are they in any way complicit in her conduct?

In a civilised society it is right and proper for local authorities and charities to ensure that nobody is without a roof over their head. The law provides for that. There is no lawful excuse for squatting. And from tonight those who do face criminal prosecution.

If they continue to squat after tonight, they risk ensuring that they will indeed have a roof over their heads for quite some time - and they will not need to pay rent for the privilege.

It is called prison. A slop bucket is optional.

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End of squatters' rights: From midnight tonight squatters will finally enjoy free housing - in jail